


Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times

by Rikemika



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: 1920s, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fix-It, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27661082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikemika/pseuds/Rikemika
Summary: The author's vision of the afterword of the Crimes of Grindelwald: all the events of fanfiction take place starting from the scene on the bridge where Newt spoke to Dumbledore.Original language of work: Russian.Translated by: https://twitter.com/leeklane
Relationships: Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34
Collections: FB Week 2020 #FBWeek2020





	Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Счастье можно найти даже в тёмные времена](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27661045) by [Rikemika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikemika/pseuds/Rikemika). 



For centuries putting its walls up from the wind, Hogwarts was rising above a lake like a giant lump. The size of the castle really made people, who were standing on its bridge, looked as small as grains of sand. But it was these people who made this place so fascinating and filled it with magic, breathed life into it.

Walking across the bridge, Dumbledore turned around several times to see if the others were following him and Newt. Taking this as an invitation, Nagini was the first one to move. She'd heard that Dumbledore was a great wizard and maybe he knew something about the Maledictus curse. Almost immediately after Nagini, Kama and Tina started walking too. Jacob stood still and stared somewhere further away. Tina noticed in the corner of her eye that he wasn’t coming and stopped.

“Jacob,” she turned around and called.

A bit hesitant, Jacob finally turned to face Tina. He looked at her in a confused, dead look. Tina felt a lump coming to her throat, but before it could affect her voice, she swallowed and called the No-Maj once again.

“Come on, come on, Jacob.”

“Where are we going?”

“Don’t you want to take a tour of the wizarding school?” Tina tried to make her voice sound more cheerful.

She did need a distraction. And somehow Tina was really good at saying stupid things, especially when she was very nervous, so she thought it was the right thing to do now. And the tour seemed to fit that definition. 

Jacob nodded silently and looked at Hogwarts, as if only now he knew what a grand castle was in front of him. He froze and rubbed his eyes like he’d just woken up. The school was still there. Staring at it, Jacob followed Tina.

Only Spielman, Travers and the aurors hadn't moved yet.

“You want to join them, I suppose?” Travers asked Theseus, who had already lifted his boot up to step forward.

“Yes. And you didn't, right?” replied Theseus, without turning his face, and put his foot on the ground. He'd knew the answer beforehand, so asking Travers this question was nothing more but a formality.

“I have nothing to do there. As much as I hate to admit it, Dumbledore is no longer a suspect. We’ll call him and your brother later to testify.”

“Then with your permission,” said Theseus and much quieter, only on exhalation, added, “Or without it,” and then raised his voice again in order to be heard properly, “I need...” but his voice started to fail, and Theseus closed his mouth. He coughed and continued, “ To take a little break.”

Spielman glanced at his colleague and turned away, giving instructions to the aurors.

“I’ll see you later at the Ministry then,” answered Travers, pursing his lips.

Theseus nodded and watched as his superior, Spielman, and the aurors disapparated.

***

It didn’t take long to catch up with Newt and Dumbledore. They just stopped at the entrance to the school, continuing the conversation. Newt looked a little surprised at Theseus. He didn’t expect his brother to stay. But he was really happy about it. Theseus needed at least a little time to rest.  
When everyone gathered together, the massive doors opened, letting the guests in.

“Be careful, the stairs are changing direction,” warned Newt, turning over his shoulder as they passed the main hall.

“What do you mean?” asked Jacob in awe.

“I think that's what he meant,” Tina answered, looking up.

One of the stairs broke apart from the parapet and began to move to the left, towards another passage.

“Wow!” whistled Jacob and froze.

Theseus was following him but bumped right into his back.

“I’m so sorry, I guess my mind just wandered.”

“It's okay,” answered Theseus in a bit of confusion. “Just try to watch your step. Look, we are about to fall!” Theseus caught Jacob at his arm, and together they stepped on another ladder; the one they'd been standing on fell off, moving to the other end of the hall.

Jacob looked down, holding the stone rails. Every time he thought he'd gotten used to magic, it found a way to surprise him. Feeling amazed and delighted, feeling at least something, Jacob realized that he was still alive and what had happened the previous night wouldn't break him down if he was going to get Queenie back. And he was really going to do so. Jacob had a lot of determination, even though he understood that he had nothing to fight dark wizards but his own fists. He'd be fine. Jacob wiped his nose and fixed his mustache.

“That's it, don't let the emotions take power on you,” he thought.

Stairs were moving in different directions under and above the group. Some were empty, others had students standing on them. Their faces did not express any surprise, as this kind of travel was quite a common thing for them. Jacob even felt a little awkward and looked more restrained. Though he didn’t stop staring at everything around him.

Tina was also turning her head to different directions. She was a bit shocked by the number of magical portraits hanging on the walls because there were far fewer of them in Ilvermorny. And here, in Hogwarts, they were neatly sized like mosaics, filling every single meter of walls. People from the pictures were looking at them, pointing their fingers and trying to make some conversations with them. Someone would go from one portrait to another one to get a better look at the guests, someone would sloppy grace them with just one look. The rest of the pictures depicted only animals that were slowly disappearing in one piece of art and appearing in other.

Soon the stairs docked to the corridor in the north wing, after turning for a half-circle.  
Dumbledore took them to his office the direction of which Newt was completely aware. And he knew the professor had chosen one of the longest ways. While he was thinking about the possible reasons for this Dumbledore's behavior, he heard the surprised exclamations coming from Jacob who was standing behind him and greeting the armor.

When Newt turned around, he saw Jacob who just realized that he wasn't greeting a human, and, apologizing, he continued to walk, still mistrustfully stealing some looks from the armor. Newt also saw the enchanted look in Tina’s eyes when she was looking around, and thought, what really mattered was her, having a little bit of good or even neutral emotion, especially after everything that’d happened. Distract yourself, clear your mind of the whole veil of grief. A school tour would do that.

The ancient walls of the castle kept many stories. There was a stone of a column that had been erased on the corner, and hundreds of students were holding their hands to it. Here were also traces of a ricochet from someone’s spell, and just a little further, on the wall, someone had tried to scratch the initials in a shape of a heart; slightly erased stone floor slabs in the places that walked the most. All this made the castle alive, and it was a testament to the fact that many magicians lived and learned here each year after year. Ilvermorny was way younger, Tina felt it just by being within these walls. An amazing sensation crawled under the skin. This place literally breathed magic.

As they passed by one of the classes, they heard singing, apparently, there was a school choir. Then they turned into the west corridor and were met by a student in a black and blue robe and with the same dark lining. He practically hit Dumbledore.  
“Sorry, Professor!” the boy jumped off with an apology, and curiously took a look at everyone else. He was tired and out of breath.

“Mr. Thompson, where are you going in such a hurry?”

“I'm heading to the extra class, sir.”

“Don’t run in the halls, it’s not safe,” Dumbledore told him.

“I won't, sir.”

The boy nodded and slowly walked past the group. But as soon as he was behind them all, he ran even faster than he had before.

Dumbledore smiled, shook his head, and led everyone through an open gallery.

One of its walls was open, exiting into the courtyard. On the other end, there was a great number of chatting with each other students who also were clearly in a hurry. According to what they were talking about, it was obvious that they were heading to the Quidditch field for the team practice.

“Hello, Professor,” one of the students said and his greeting was invaded by the non-stop choir of his teammates.

Dumbledore just nodded and smiled.

Schoolchildren quickly passed by, but some of them occasionally took a look back at the guests.

“What’s Quidditch?” Jacob asked, frowning.

“It’s a sport. Only wizards do it,” Tina was the first one to respond.

“You have to be able to fly a broom to do that,” added Newt.

“Wow, so that witch stereotype about flying on the broom is true?” Jacob looked back at Tina and she winked at him. “And you can fly too?” He asked Newt.

“Yeah, I played Quidditch when I was a student here.”

Tina raised her eyebrows. It didn't quite fit with the image Newt had already managed to create. She was terribly interested in all the details, such as what position he had been playing, whether he had been on the team or playing only during classes, but for now, she didn’t have time to ask these questions.  
They reached the end of the hall, and Dumbledore opened the door of his office, inviting the guests in.

***

The office looked the same as Newt remembered it, with only one difference. In the middle of the room was a long table with benches and tableware. The table was set for every guest. Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, inviting guests, and Newt sat down on his right. Theseus sat near his brother and Tina – in front of him. Newt got nervous at first because he wanted to sit next to Tina, but it was too late. But running back and forth and change seats would look foolish. Yusuf took a seat next to her and Nagini and sat on the same side. Newt calmed himself down by thinking that at least he could look her eyes, just like he'd been doing during their first dinner together.

Jakob took his time. He looked around. There were all sorts of weird things that definitely surprised his Muggle imagination. He carefully studied the dragon’s skeleton above their heads, looked at the vaults of the original architecture, and the interesting little things hidden in niches and shelves.

“Jacob, are you eating with us?” asked Newt, turning around.

Jacob went back to reality.

“Oh yes, of course,” he sat hastily beside Theseus, the last remaining free seat, and almost forced himself to stop looking at the surrounding environment.“This place is so amazing, it’s really hard to take your eyes off.”

“Jacob, you are one of the few Muggles who have ever been to Hogwarts,” said Dumbledore, giving everyone napkins.

“Oh it’s... an honor for me,” Jacob answered, feeling a sense of his own importance. It gave him even more confidence so that he knew he could resist any possible troubles. Yeah, he was a simple man, but he could handle it.

“Well. Well, this dinner is the least I can do for you, so let’s get started.”

As a command, the house-elves served lunch, somehow guessing what everyone would like to consume now. The food, as usual, appeared as if from the air, and this delighted Jacob, who no longer thought he would be more surprised today. Even Nagini, accustomed to magic, looked at it with astonishment. And it was a very long time since she'd seen such a beautiful meal, so, looking carefully at the rest of the group, she began eating slowly, not waiting for the invitation to start. No one noticed it because everyone was looking at their plates. Even for the baby Niffler there was a saucer of milk as it'd been promised. 

Jacob was watching his glass of bubbly foam on top with interest.

“It’s a butterbeer,” Newt told him.

“Never heard of it.” Jacob shrugged and enthusiastically took the first sip. He raised his eyebrows.”Mmm, very well!”

When he swallowed mashed potatoes sausages, his stomach made a sound that made him remembered that he had received nothing in the last 24 hours except the croissant that Flamel had given them immediately after the final battle. The good old man wanted to cheer them up as much as he could.

Everyone began eating their meals. Despite the depressing circumstances and mental state, everyone understood that they really needed to eat properly.

Almost everyone was enjoying it, but Tina, like Theseus, didn’t even take a bite. However, she finally forced herself to eat, and even though the food was actually great, it didn't have any taste for her. Then, over a cup of cocoa, Tina was barely holding back her tears. With a slight click, the cup disappeared instantly from her hand. Instead, an orange drink appeared on the table in front of her. Tina looked up and looked around: everyone was busy eating their meal, and no one noticed the switch. Only Newt was peeking at her, slightly raising the same glass. Tina looked at the glass in surprise and raised it to her nose. It didn’t smell like oranges. So she tried to drink it. It was pumpkin juice. It was good. The most common drink for Hogwarts students, with which she had no personal associations.

Newt did a little magic for her, a seemingly insignificant act, but so important. Tina was so moved that she again had to fight back the tears. She looked back at Newt, and he immediately caught her eye. Tina opened her mouth, but she didn’t say anything and then bit her lip. Newt had almost looked away from her when he noticed her saying "thank you" and smiling very softly, although her eyes remained sad. He smiled timidly in return and continued on finishing his meal. His heart was pounding like he'd been a student who had been caught in doing something forbidden and sent to this office again to excuse himself, he didn't know what to say.

When most of the food was done, there was a little talk. There was no mention of what had happened. Everyone was trying to discuss something else or something completely neutral. They even discussed the Quidditch Cup, explaining to Jacob what it was and what the rules were.

***  
When a group of wizards returned to the entrance to the jungled corridors, the sun was already tilting towards the horizon, with its last rays beautifully illuminating the walls through the arrow windows. Their footsteps were spreading in silence. The silence was crushing. It opened the door to all the unpleasant thoughts that couldn't escape when they had been sitting at the table and talking. As Newt looked back, he noticed Tina’s shoulders lowered. She wrapped her arms around herself again, as if trying to hold together something that was falling apart. He was feeling very similar right now. But he knew that Tina felt was worse. She blamed herself for the situation and wanted her Queenie to come back. Newt had no one to return. And no matter how much he grieved, sacrificing herself for their salvation was Leta's deliberate, noble choice.

Newt slowed down, lagging slightly behind, and caught up with Tina.  
She noticed this and timidly, very briefly, smiled at him. On a tired face with deep shadows under tear-stained eyes, this smile was like a pale shadow of the one he had seen on Tina's face in New York. But he was glad to see that too.

They were all in dire need of rest now. In order to throw all the forces to help Queenie and Credence, these forces must first appear.

“You know, I've been caught and punished many times at this particular place,” Newt said in a low voice and nodded at the tapestry on the wall.

“Here?” Tina was surprised but easily joined the conversation, feeling that she needed to be distracted. “Do you have any special love for carpet moths?”

Newt appreciated the joke with a snort and looked at Tina from under her tousled bangs. Her capability of joking now was a good sign.

“Hogwarts has a lot of secret passages. Behind this tapestry was the one that led to my secret hideout. Well, a simple closet where I nursed all kinds of animals, to be exact.”

Tina grinned harmlessly and raised her eyebrows at Newt.

“Why am I not surprised?”

Newt smiled back.

“Sometimes I had to feed my beasts every few hours, so I regularly violated the curfew. For this, I got detention or they could prescribe additional or used labor therapy.”

“Labor therapy?”

“Washing all the cauldrons in the Potions class, for example,” Newt recalled.”But there were also interesting ones. A mandragora transplant, for example, with the delivery of fertilizer from dragon dung. My roommates weren't particularly happy about that.”He rubbed the tip of his nose in embarrassment. “And above all, I was not very good at cleaning spells.”

Tina closed her eyes, shaking her head with a wry smile.

“Oh, I can understand them!”

Newt saw that Tina was coming to life a little, saw his beloved "fire in dark water" and continued to tell whatever nonsense he remembered as they walked along the winding corridors if only this light inside her would not fade.

Jacob walked a little ahead and also listened with pleasure. He really liked Hogwarts. Sometimes he also asked something and then Newt or Theseus answered.  
Theseus looked better than one might think, although he seemed a little absent-minded. But Newt knew that his brother was just good at making an appearance and focusing on action, locking emotions deep down. It had been impossible to do otherwise during the war times so that now he was the best Auror, a war hero. And now, in the same way, he was holding onto his shell, removing his experiences into the farthest box inside himself. They were not for others; they could only be released in private. Theseus was like that from childhood. Newt could understand him, in some ways they were similar, although the external manifestations of Newt's experiences were always easier. Even in spite of his seeming isolation and alienation from society. He did not wear masks around the people he trusted.

***

“I'm afraid that after what happened I may again have problems with leaving the country. Or worse,” Newt said gloomily, remembering his own words about Azkaban.

“This time the situation is different,” said Theseus. “I'll take care of this. Besides, after Travers, against all warnings, sent an entire squad of Aurors to the slaughter, he greatly curbed his ardor. ”His brother's voice sounded stern in a way that Newt had never heard.

“We can testify this time if it's needed,” Tina said confidently.

Theseus nodded, and Newt fixed his gaze on Tina.

“When do you need to return to New York?”

Tina was momentarily confused. It was still so difficult. They'd never spoken normally. And this question was literally a fork in the road with a choice of where to go next. But now she was unable to make any long-term decisions. At least they were on the same side. And she felt better when Newt was around. That was enough for her right now.

“I'll need a portkey for an urgent return. It must be confirmed by both MOM and MACUSA. This usually takes a while. And I do not yet know if my presence there is needed.”

“Then stay,” Newt cut off and looked around, “Everyone who has nowhere to go can stay with me. We all need to rest. Jacob?” Newt turned ingratiatingly.

“Sure. Where else am I going, buddy?” Jacob smiled, slightly curling his lip to one side.

“Nagini?”

“I'd really appreciate that,” the girl nodded.

“Kama?”

“I have a place to stay, but I would visit you later if you don't mind.”

Newt nodded and turned to Tina. He waited for her answer most of all and she knew it. Still standing with her arms crossed, she tilted her head slightly to one side and down and smiled, first examining her shoes, and then looked up, looking up from under her bangs.

“Okay, let it be.”

Newt caught himself on the fact that he did not breathe in anticipation of an answer and only now exhaled with delight along with a fleeting smile.

“Well, then.”

Theseus went over to shake Newt's hand as a goodbye and hugged him slightly with his other hand. 

“I'll send an owl from the ministry later,” he said quietly to his younger brother.   
Newt slapped him lightly on the shoulder in response and held his hand on him, pulling away.

“You know where to find me. Come when you want.”

Theseus nodded, looking away. Newt saw that he was already at the limit and had to leave.

Nagini raised her head sharply, remembering and took off the coat that Yusuf had lent her. Quietly and briefly thanking him, she returned the thing to the owner.

“We've got to go,” Newt said, coming up to them.

“And your brother?” Tina asked anxiously, looking at Theseus, who stood with his back to them, leaning on the wide parapet of the bridge.

Newt turned around briefly.

“He's got... He still has things to do.”

Nobody asked any more questions. Tina, Jacob, Nagini, and Newt joined hands and transgressed to his home.

Kama lingered for a few more moments and also disappeared into a light misty haze.   
Several drops fell onto the stone railing. Theseus wept some of them from his face soundlessly and only the wind howled, crawling under the hem of his coat, sneaking no worse than the memories of the last night.

***

The four of them apparated straight to the doorstep. Newt quickly climbed the steps and opened the doos, entering himself and letting everyone else in, while looking around the street. It was almost midnight, so they needed to be careful.   
“Mr. Scamander, you're back!”Bunty sounded very delightful. She came out of the basement and froze, examining the guests. She did not immediately but recognized the girl, whose picture from the newspaper was on the back of Newt's case. Her hospitable smile faded noticeably.

“Oh, Bunty, you're here. These people will stay with me for a while,” Newt explained and turned to the others. “This is Bunty, my assistant, she helps with the beasts.”

Bunty nodded uncertainly, still trying to feign a smile.

Jacob raised his hand in greeting, Nagini nodded softly and walked deep into the room to the fireplace, Tina was the only one who said “hello” just as Newt was slamming the door, so she was not sure if she was heard.

“You can go home and maybe even take a day off tomorrow,” Newt told Bunty.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It's fine, I can handle it.”  
Bunty nodded a little in frustration and went into the basement to get ready for home. Newt hung his coat on a hook at the entrance and turned to the others.

“Jacob, you left your bag here, right?”

Jacob frowned but then walked over to the sofa and pulled out a small bag from under it. 

“Here it is!”

Meanwhile, Tina took off her cloak and slung it over the back of the chair, looking around the room.

“Okay, so you have something to change into,” Newt nodded in satisfaction and turned to Tina. He was about to say something but turned his gaze to Nagini. 

“Well...”

“I’ll help,” Tina said immediately, realizing that Newt would hardly have something for the girl to put on, and she could not conjure on her own.

Nagini looked up at Tina a bit confused but then smiled reassuringly.

“Come on, you need to change and take a bathroom, I will turn your dress into something more comfortable.”

“Oh, the bathroom is right down the hall, behind the stairs,” Newt said, embarrassed, scratching the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

Tina nodded and held out her hand to the girl invitingly. Nagini accepted it carefully. She knew that she could trust these people, but still it was rather strange for her. Together they walked in the direction Newt pointed out, and as they passed by, he caught Tina's eyes and whispered "thanks" with his lips. Tina smiled slightly, nodding.

“Newt, do you mind?” Jacob pointed towards the kitchen.

“Of course, it's at your disposal.”

“Do you have any dried chamomile?” asked Jacob, walking into the kitchen. “Granny always put it to her tea when she was nervous.

Newt thought for a moment and then went after Jacob. He opened several lockers in turn until he found the right tin.

“Here, you better add a pinch of these roots to your tea. They are tasteless, but their soothing properties are better.”

Jacob trusted Newt in matters of various kinds of herbs because he cured him of the bite of that creature in no time. He lowered the kettle onto the stove and took the box from Newt's hands.

“And where do you have...” he wanted to ask about the matches, but Newt, anticipating, had already lit a fire on the stove. “Well, yes, of course, magic. Thanks.”  
Newt smiled with the edges of his lips. He really liked watching Jacob's reaction to everything magical. And he really missed him, not thinking that he could ever see him again. After all, Jacob was his friend.

“I'll go get the rooms ready,” Newt almost left the kitchen but stopped in the doorway.“Jacob, do you mind sleeping on the sofa?”

“As you say, buddy,” he answered without being distracted from looking for mugs.

There were almost no identical cups or plates in the cupboard, all were from different sets. Some are porcelain and refined, others are made of rough ceramics, some are chipped, some are painted with gold. At first, Jacob was confused but then simply chose the cups that he liked more than others. One of them was pot-bellied and had legs, resembling a bowler hat.

Newt's house was small, but there were a couple of guest rooms. Jacob and Nagini got two small rooms on the left side of the house. The small back room Newt had prepared for Nagini had a large bed, and the larger but walk-through room had a big sofa.  
Newt was glad that Jacob was unpretentious and agreed to sleep on it. For Tina, he left his bedroom, and he himself decided to spend the night in a case, where he had a folding bed. He could have pulled it out and put it in the living room, but he didn't want to embarrass anyone who wanted to spend some time in the kitchen.  
When Tina left the bathroom, leaving Nagini with a new set of clothes, she only saw Jacob in the living room. He was just pouring tea into a large cup.

“Where’s Newt?” she asked, looking around.

“He went to prepare the rooms. Do you want some tea?”

Tina already wanted to refuse because she would have been better off drinking coffee, but a reasonable part of her mind told her that coffee before sleep was a dubious enjoyment. Plus they were in England. Drinking tea is very English.

“Yes.”

Jacob poured tea into a second cup.

“Sugar?” he pushed the sugar bowl to Tina.

“Thanks. Um, listen, Jacob, I need to apologize.”

Jacob looked up at Tina in surprise. She wasn't looking at him but at her cup, where she was stirring the long-dissolved sugar.

“For forbidding Queenie to see you.”

Jacob waved his hand.

“Come on, you just wanted to protect her, and I can agree with you. Look what this led to... I knew I could pretend I don't remember anything.”

“Jacob,” Tina looked at him longingly.“This is certainly not your fault.”

“I could be softer in terms,” he said regretfully. “And in my thoughts.”

“Reading your thoughts is her choice,” Tina said a little sternly.“We fought a lot because of this. Because thoughts are something that is difficult to control. But what matters is not what you thought, but what you decided to say, realizing the possible consequences of the words,” she paused for a moment and added, “And Grindelwald, unfortunately, is too skillful with words and playing with feelings. And our laws only play into his hands. Newt was right.”

“What about me?” Newt asked as he walked down the stairs.

With disheveled hair and rolled-up sleeves, he entered the room, holding his blanket and pillow. Tina wanted to answer, but froze, only shifting her gaze to him. She couldn't help herself but admired him. The realization that anyone in this room might not have returned after what happened yesterday made her look at Newt in a different way.  
He froze awkwardly, caught by her gaze. After waiting for a few long seconds, Jacob decided to answer.

“It's nothing, Newt, we're just still trying to get the blame on ourselves,” he said and drank from a cup.

The playfulness of his tone defused the atmosphere for a little, and Newt finally looked away and laid his burden on the edge of the sofa. He was still embarrassed, he also felt that part of the guilt on himself, but conversations and thoughts about what could have been done differently and perhaps what had happened would not have happened did not make sense. Newt knew this, but he understood that when he was worried, it was difficult to stop thinking about it. He was about to say something when Tina caught his attention again, catching his gaze.

“Never mind, we just can't accept what happened and we have useless conversations to cheer ourselves up. Do you want some tea?” she asked.

“I won't mind,” he agreed, taking the opportunity to change the subject, and sat down in the chair next to her. “And then I'll show you your rooms. We all need rest.”

Newt had only half a cup of his drink when Nagini returned to the living room. Tina turned her dress into comfortable pants and a blouse. She was the first to notice her at the door.

“Is that okay?” Tina asked.

“Yes, I am very grateful, thank you.”

“Would you like some tea, dear?” Jacob asked softly and lifted the kettle.

Nagini looked confused. She shook her head slightly and looked down.

“I am very tired, so if you don't mind...”

Newt left his tea and got up from the table.

“Sure. I'll show you the room.”

***

After drinking all the tea, Newt led Jacob and Tina upstairs. Throwing the bag into the room, Jacob took his pajamas and went to the shower, while Newt opened the door in the right wing for Tina.

“Is it your room?” Tina asked, looking around.

It was well recognized. A desk piled high with sketches and drafts, books and bottles on the shelves, a small single bed by the window. It looked like that small branch office he had in his case.

“I hope, you don't mind? I changed linen to the fresh one...”

“But where will you sleep?” this worried Tina much more than the freshness of the bed linen.

“In the case,” Newt said simply and smiled a little silly, remembering a similar conversation in New York.

“I don’t want to kick you out of your bed.”

“I remember when I first came to you, you gave me yours,” Newt said quietly, gradually raising his gaze to her face.

Tina smiled, acknowledging the fairness of this mirrored act and also remembering their conversation in New York. Her heart started bitting fast with excitement. That time was so bright and joyful.  
She needed something like this now so as not to drown in gloomy thoughts. And Tina caught on to this opportunity.

“Where will your case be?”

He thought for a moment but quickly found an answer.

“In the living room.”

“Like last time,” Tina continued to smile, and Newt nodded, smiling back.

So they stood for several moments silently, looking into each other's eyes. Newt looked away first.

“Well, a towel on the bed and so some things to change into. Or transfigure them.”

“Thank you, Newt.”

He was so glad to hear his name from her again, his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

“Um, I'll leave you,” he finally gasped when he realized he got frozen, standing in the doorway again.

Newt was saying goodbye for too long, desperately trying to leave the room because he really didn't want to leave it at all. His legs literally grew into the floor with every step.

“Newt!” her exclamation caught him when he was already behind the door, and Tina moved closer to make sure he heard.

“Yes?” a slightly curly head appeared from behind the door. He was glad to be with Tina even for a moment.

“You need to rest too.”

“Yes, just take the Zouwu to the basement,” he pursed his lips awkwardly.

“Just call me if you need any help.”

Newt nodded and closed the door.

Having disassembled things on the bed, Tina transfigured an old terry robe into cozy pajamas. Apparently, she was the last in the queue to take a bath. She did not mind, there was almost no strength for it. But at the same time, it was difficult to just sit in one place while waiting, so Tina refreshed her appearance with a cleansing spell and began to explore Newt's room. It had a lot of details, and the tour of it turned out to be entertaining. Tina even found another sketched portrait of her among the heap of papers on the table. It reminded her of what she had seen in the case, what Leta had noticed before. So how did Newt feel about her? She herself knew she had fallen in love like a schoolgirl, thinking about him for days and nights, almost living from one letter to another letter, and then this story with the magazine and everything got so confused... She had been angry with Newt, or rather, she had wanted to be angry. But when she had seen him again, she forgot about everything. Tina knew she couldn't control her heart, she still loved him very much, although she'd been trying to be cold, reminding herself of this every time she stared at his freckles or an awkward smile. And then there had been a conversation in the archive, where they had been interrupted at the most exciting moment and they had had no more opportunity to continue it.  
Thoughts rushed back and forth and pressed no worse than loneliness in a room, so Tina took her portrait and went downstairs to find Newt in the basement. Maybe he still needed help, and maybe they would still be able to finish.

***  
Newt was sitting in the basement in front of a mirror and with long tweezers and cotton clutched in them, trying to reach a huge dark brown bruise under his shoulder blade. It didn't work very well because it hurt him to move his arm so far, and coordinating the movement of his hand through the mirror required more concentration than he had now. Fatigue made itself felt. The shirt laid next to it on the table, along with open flasks, ointments, and cotton swabs.

“Mercy Lewis!” Tina gasped, turning at the corner of the stairs and seeing the size of the bruise.

“Tina!” from surprise, Newt dropped the tweezers, jerking sharply and wincing in pain.

“Why didn't you ask for help?” she quickly came up to Newt and began to examine the back.

“I thought I could handle it myself,” Newt replied, looking at her through the mirror.

“May I help?”

Newt nodded. Then Tina carefully ran her fingers along the edge of the bruise, lightly pressing in some places. Newt was silent, but when the pressure was painful, Tina could see the muscles in his back tightened and veins protruded in his clenched hands.

“It's likely to be a crack in the rib, even more than one. Wait.”

Tina pulled out her wand and cast a bone-splicing spell.

“Brackium Emendo.”

Newt felt relieved, it seemed that the bones had really been broken. Tina cast a few more healing spells and the bruise almost completely disappeared, and so did the pain. He was able to calmly inhale and exhale. Nothing hurt.

“Does it hurt somewhere else?”

“No, that's all. Thank you, Tina.”

Only now, when the tense moment was over, Tina realized that Newt was sitting in front of her naked to the waist, and she was seeing him like that for the very first time. His back was covered with various scars. She remembered looking at the scars on his hands, and now she was looking at them on his back. They were like a constellation map. And before realizing, Tina touched the largest one on his right shoulder. It was whitish and cool compared to the rest of his skin. Very old, apparently.

“It was a hippogriff when I was 10. I covered up my neighbor's dog which ran into his enclosure,” Newt said suddenly.

Only when he raised his voice, did Tina realize what she was doing. From surprise and realization, she almost pulled her hand away, but at the same moment she saw that Newt did not push her away, he started sharing his story with her. It was very strange, very intimate, a wave of embarrassment was burning from the inside, but this did not make her less curious. Indeed, Tina took a chance and ran her fingers along a long line of small punctures running diagonally across his back.  
They were still slightly pinkish, though they were not fresh, but not too old either.

“Dragon's spine,” Newt replied immediately, and under her fingers Tina felt the vibration of his voice.“I was hit by a spell during the war. Confundus. I passed out in flight, and the dragon grabbed me, letting me fall on its back. The landing was not pleasant, but at least I stayed alive.”

Tina sighed, realizing that Newt had served in the war. Again, something that did not fit so well with his image of a quiet enthusiastic magizoologist, protecting all living beings and condemning the Aurors. And it looked like there was another war ahead of them. The thought was unpleasant, and Tina focused all her attention on the sensations under her fingertips. Next was a small crescent-shaped scar between the neck and shoulder.

“Baby chupacabra. I was lucky that it missed.”

“Do you remember the history of each scar?” she asked, unable to resist.

“No, not really. You just chose the right ones,” Newt smiled shyly in the mirror.

He was watching her all this time. Tina looked away in embarrassment and realized that the time for this strange game had apparently come to an end, the atmosphere had dissipated. She picked Newt's shirt up from the table and threw it over his shoulders.

“Perhaps, you should still ask for help, maybe there would be fewer scars.”

“Usually there’s no one around,” Newt said simply, and Tina realized that he had been on his own all his life, in all the dangers and adventures.

Now she was alone too. She didn't really want to return home, so now there was also an empty cold apartment with tons of memories that guaranteed to make her cry for more than one evening.  
But at least right now, at this moment, they had each other. Tina helped him with the treatment of the wound, and Newt, by his mere presence, instilled in her faith in a better outcome of events. She needed him. Very much.  
After waiting for him buttoning at least half of his shirt, Tina took a drawing with her face out from her pajama pocket and came up to Newt with it.

“I found it in your room,” she said softly, biting her lip.

“Oh,” Newt was confused. He thought he'd put all the drawings in a drawer. “This, I mean, of course, ahem, so...”

“It turned out beautifully,” Tina said with a slight smile, looking straight in Newt's eyes.

“You're more beautiful,” he blurted out faster than he thought.

Tina laughed, although her eyes remained sad. She took a step and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Can we just stand like this for a while?”

Instead of answering, Newt put his hands on her shoulders, pressing her a little closer. At first, timidly and awkwardly, but when Tina put her hands behind his back, he tightly and carefully hugged her to him. Newt felt his chest filled with excitement. He never really liked hugs, but now it was different.  
He couldn't even explain to himself what exactly it was. But he really liked the feeling.

“I really missed you,” Tina whispered softly in his collarbone.

“Sorry, I never came back,” Newt replied and pressed his temple to the back of her head.

He wanted to say much more than that, he wanted to tell her that during this year there was not a single day that he did not think about her, especially at night – he did not spend a single night without imagining her before he would fall asleep. And that if he knew about this stupid magazine, he would have tried to make everything clear even earlier.

“You couldn't.”

“But I really wanted to,” he brought his hands together a little tighter and pressed his cheek to her hair.

And that was enough for Tina. She was a strong woman, but now she simply had no strength left, and in Newt's company she realized that she could throw off that mask. Tears just welled up in her eyes and rolled down in large drops, dripping directly onto his shirt. It's much better than crying alone in a room, alone with your thoughts. Tina was very grateful to Newt for this because now they were comforting each other. Everyone had lost something last night, but maybe they could gain something for each other.

They stood there long enough, Tina's breathing almost recovered, only occasionally reminding him with sharp sighs how much she cried. And Newt all this time was gently stroking her back, it was very calming and relaxing.  
A door creaked upstairs.

“Hey, Newt, there's an owl...” Jacob, who entered the basement, froze in mid-sentence, holding a letter in his hands. “Oh, I think I'm not on time.”  
Tina turned to him, quickly wiping away the last of the tears from her cheek and instinctively taking a step away from Newt, just as Jacob was about to turn around and leave.

Newt was confused and easily opened his arms, but immediately felt terribly lonely, ceasing to feel the warmth of Tina's body.

“Tina...” Jacob hesitated, quickly drew some conclusions, and frowned at Newt. “You did tell her that awful compliment about her eyes?

“I, uh,” confused, Newt almost began to make an excuse, but Tina interrupted him.

“And it was not terrible at all. I liked it.” In the last sentence, she glanced briefly into Newt's eyes, seeing somewhat a surprise in them. 

“So he said it then,” Jacob breathed out quietly and to the side, and added louder, “Well, then you guys are apparently made for each other. Will not interfere more.”

He waved his hand with a smile and was almost back in the corridor when he remembered the letter.

“And this, here I leave it,” Jacob revealingly put the letter on the step by the door and quickly disappeared, closing it behind him.

Tina and Newt froze awkwardly, Jacob's phrase hung in the air with the need to discuss it, but both had no idea where to start.

“So, is this a letter from the ministry?” Tina asked, looking up in an attempt to avoid the awkwardness that had appeared.

“It's likely to be,” Newt confirmed, not even looking in other direction.

“Aren't you going to read it?” she said, her eyes were on Newt.

He felt how the old atmosphere was rapidly melting around them, and he was literally ready to whine from a sense of loss when Tina practically jumped away from him when she saw Jacob. He wanted to come up right now and hug her again. But he could not, first, they needed to talk. Right now. They couldn't pull that any longer, they did not have all the time of this world, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, on any day anything could happen to any of them, they had just lost two people close to them and more than ever, they acutely felt that there may simply be no other chance.

“Honestly, I think it might wait a bit,” he replied.

Tina arched an eyebrow in surprise and was about to ask something when he spoke again. This time it was much quieter and more uncertain:

“Tina, I have to say...” it was difficult for him to find the right words. “I know you already have a boy-... boyfriend...”

“I have a boyfriend?!” Tina was a bit shocked.

Newt, examining her shoes, finally looked up, surprised by the tone.

"Queenie said... Achilles Tolliver," Newt blinked intently.

Tina burst out laughing. She laughed, almost bending in half, as if at a good joke. Newt froze, confused. He completely ceased to understand what was happening.

“Queenie said that?” she asked, calming down a bit and wiping away the tears that had reappeared in the corners of her eyes.

“Yes,” Newt nodded in confusion, still not understanding what was happening but smiling a little nervously, and looked at Tina.

“Oh, Mercy Lewis. He called me on a date. I have been calling for a long time, to be honest,” Tina folded her arms over her chest and slightly squinted at Newt. “I was upset with that magazine and agreed.”

“Oh...”

“Yes. But the date was terrible,” Tina rolled her eyes. “I was listening all evening about his colleagues, his success in work, even about his ex...” she put her hand to her face and sighed, and then sharply smiled somehow very mischievous with an insidious gleam in her eyes. “And you know, he doesn't even like magical creatures, it seems at this phrase I poured the contents of my glass on his head,” Tina laughed again, remembering how it was, shaking her head slightly.

“Oh. P-poured?” Newt asked with a silly smile.

“To be honest, I splashed it right in his face,” Tina said proudly. “All in all, that meeting was the first and the last one. And Queenie, who immediately saw this in my head when I returned, teased me for a long time and offered me to go on a second one.”

“So you are not dating anyone?”

“No,” Tina smiled and dropped her hands, clasped her fingers in a lock.“So what did you want to say?” 

Newt felt his tongue grew to his palate. Now it seemed even worse to say what he was going to say. He felt inner delight and glee when he heard that Tina threw her drink in the face of this guy, and when she confirmed that she was not seeing anyone, but at the same time, his whole insides caught in a spasm. It was terrifying to hear the refusal. But to hear something in response, he first had to say something. So, he took a small step towards her and now stood closer than was necessary for a conversation. But Tina did not move away, on the contrary, she slightly raised her head, looking into his eyes. It gave Newt some courage. Although not enough to immediately respond to this look.

“When I saw Queenie and Jacob in my living room, I was very happy and immediately went to look for you, but Queenie said that it was just the both of them,” Newt paused and sighed, remembering his disappointment.

Tina slowly loosened the lock, leaving only a couple of fingers intertwined and nervously fiddling one with her other in excitement, rubbing her knuckle. Newt looked at her hands, choosing his next words.

“Then I was especially acutely aware of how much I miss you.”

He reached out and caught her fingers. A little timidly, but seeing that Tina willingly responded, he covered her hand with his other palm. And finally, Newt looked into her eyes.

“I could not help thinking about you all this year, and at that moment when I saw the postcard...”

“A postcard?” Tina asked, biting her lip, and immediately regretted that she had so carelessly interrupted him, 

“The one you wrote to Queenie, she dropped it,” Newt explained.

“So this is how you found out where I was,” Tina smiled, and her eyes sparkled again with moisture. “And that was enough for you to find me in the city?”  
Newt nodded uncertainly.

“We were lucky to find your tracks on the Secret Square and went to the Kama...”

“I was so happy when I saw you in the dungeon. I thought I was still sleeping,” admitted Tina, stroking his hand with her thumb.

“And then they shut us down and you got angry,” Newt recalled with a slight laugh, he was still embarrassed by that meeting. He managed to scroll through the possible options a bunch of times in his head, but such a scenario simply knocked the ground out from under his feet.

“Of course I was angry! I so stupidly fell into the trap, and the rescue team wasn't better,” she laughed.

“I love your laugh,” Newt said with a gentle smile and at the same moment realized that he had said it out loud because Tina raised her surprised eyes at him, still smiling. “N-not just laughter!” he hastened to add.

And, realizing that it was now too late, he began to say everything he had on his mind.

“But also your eyes and the wrinkles around them, when you smile, how you bite your lip, thinking about something, how you straighten your hair when you are nervous, and easy gait that springs slightly when you are happy, your lively way of thinking, your desire for justice in own understanding, your stubbornness and persistence.”

While Newt was saying all these things that he not only noticed in her, but also loved, Tina was about to cry again, but this time from happiness. She was inwardly thrilled with every word because she finally knew for sure that their feelings were mutual. And that she didn't need to hide hers because no one stood between them.

“And I really want to,” Newt continued.“I want to be close to you and find even more of that for which I will love you even more. And, to be honest, I'm already head over heels in love with you, Tina,” he finally admitted.

“If you’re head over heels, then I’m even more,” Tina smiled happily.

He could not imagine that he loved Tina less than she did him, he generally could hardly understand from the mere thought that Tina also loved him, and in a slight euphoric panic, his mind threw up the memory of a children's book, in which two birds tried to put sounds into words to express feelings for each other. Gently pressing his forehead to hers, he whispered:

“To the moon and back.”

Tina raised her eyebrows in surprise. Newt realized that she might never have heard the story.

“This is from a book for Muggles. I loved it as a kid,” Newt whispered. “This is how the little bunny described how deeply it's in love with another one.”

“To the moon and back,” Tina agreed, smiling happily.

She tilted her head slightly and leaned forward, touching his lips with hers. Newt answered awkwardly. Not that he didn't know exactly what to do, but Tina was the first person he kissed. And he just had a hurricane of emotions going through his body because he finally did it. He looked at her lips so many times during a conversation, so many times he allowed himself to think about how he would touch them, and this just happened. It was much nicer than he thought. And Tina had a very pleasant smell. Giving a feeling of comfort and something very precious. The lips were so soft and warm, even though Tina bit them too often with excitement. One could drown in these sensations as if a soft veil hid them from the whole world and everything seemed to be small. But in the end, Newt pulled back a little to look her in eyes. He really wanted to continue but was afraid to do something wrong. Even though it was Tina who leaned forward first, Newt seemed to need one more confirmation. What if he got it wrong? He wanted there to be no more misunderstandings between them. Gently taking her face in the palm of his hand, he looked into her eyes with such ingratiation and desire, uttering her name in a whisper that Tina, completely unconsciously, licked her lips. A movement that was read accurately. Newt could not resist and desperately pressed his lips to hers, trying to catch her tongue hidden behind them, greedily inhaling the smell of a loved one, that after a moment he was afraid that he could hurt her and tried to pull away. But Tina did not allow this to be done. She buried her fingers in the short hair on the back of his head and pulled him to her with renewed strength, clinging to him so desperately, as if this closeness could be taken away from her at any second.

When they finally stopped, both disheveled and happy, they looked into each other's eyes for a long time and were breathing heavily as if they had just been running. Yes, there was something in that. In a matter of minutes, they closed the huge distance that separated them earlier.  
They stood with their foreheads pressed together. Pulling away, Newt finally kissed Tina on the corner of her lips, then on the tip of her nose and temple, holding her tightly to him. Tina, exhaling deeply, with a smile lowered her head on his shoulder. She could hardly believe what had happened now, she tried to capture in her memory every last moment. Laughing slightly at her disbelief in her own senses, she turned her head and left a light kiss on his neck. And at that moment Tina noticed some movement behind Newt's back. Looking closer, she saw several pairs of huge eyes looking at her with interest from a small corral. It was so funny that she laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand. Newt pulled back a little, turning around and, following her gaze, saw the mooncalves looking at them. He pursed his lip.

“There is nothing to spy on!” Newt waved his hand, urging them to turn away, his other hand still hugging Tina tightly.

“I remember these guys,” she said smiling. “Are they in a quarantine?”

“Yes. An eye infection. Almost cured now,” Newt answered and turned back to them, gesturing to show what he wanted from them. “Come on, come on, turn around. I'm having such a moment here, and you...!”

Tina laughed again as the good-natured little mooncalf tilted sideways in confusion.

“They’re too cute to grumble at them.” the last word almost drowned in a yawn.

“You need rest,” his tone of voice immediately changed to worried.

“You too,” retorted Tina and suddenly remembered what exactly needed to be done before going to bed. “But first,” she waved her wand and lured the letter.  
Newt caught the envelope in the air and turned it over, examining it.

“This is from Theseus.”

While he was opening the envelope and unfolding the letter, Tina stood up so that she could also see the text.

Hello Newt,  
I'm taking this moment of confusion at the Ministry to write you this letter. The government is in a panic; an urgent council is now meeting. There will be an international meeting tomorrow. You are not being touched yet, but your travel ban is still in effect. Don't be stupid. I took the liberty of writing to MACUSA that Auror Tina Goldstein is now with us and that the mediators recommended her a couple of days of rest. Hopefully, this will give you some time to recover. The Ministry did not ask about the others.  
I managed to get some rest, don't worry. See you as soon as possible.  
Love you.  
Theseus

“Lying and not blushing,” Newt commented briefly.

“What are you talking about?”

“When did he have time to rest there? Several hours have passed since we parted. He's always like that, pounds himself with work until the pixies start to appear.”

Newt exhaled, laid the letter on the table, and sat on the edge of it, rubbing his face wearily with his hands. Tina came over and put her hand on his shoulder in a soothing gesture.

“I know that,” Newt said more quietly. “He just doesn't want to be alone now but he can't stand pity either.”

“Oh, Newt,” Tina whispered, running a hand through his unruly hair. Of course, he was worried about his brother. She understood this perfectly, although her relationship with Theseus was not close as well as she and her sister had now.

Newt caught her hand as she descended from crown to cheek, intertwined their fingers, and kissed it, pressing his hand firmly to his lips.  
He looked into Tina's eyes. And she saw in them what she was thinking about now: “I'm even afraid to imagine how Theseus feels now.”  
She wanted to say “don't think about it at all night”, but who will this phrase fool? She herself did not know how she would fall asleep left alone with heavy thoughts. Therefore, she decided to tell the only relevant truth now.

“I'm near,” Tina whispered, kissing the top of his head and squeezing his hand.

Newt felt the weight of terrible and simply unpleasant thoughts loosened on his chest from that one little phrase. It made the tips of his lips rise up into a faint smile.  
But he also felt very tired. He had to go to bed, but he really didn’t want to ruin this cozy atmosphere. It felt as if they got out of here, the fairy tale would end, burst like a soap bubble, the page of the book would turn over. And then unknown would appear. It was scary. But they had at least a couple of days ahead of them. It was a little bit calming, it gave a respite.

“Let's go to sleep?” asked Tina when he yawned and lightly pulled his hand.

But Newt didn’t budge and she looked at him, puzzled.

“It sounds stupid, but I don’t want to... No, I want to sleep,” Newt corrected himself immediately, seeing that Tina wanted to object, and put out his free hand soothingly, “but I don’t want to...”

“What, let me go?” Tina joked, actually wishing it was true. Because for her it was. She didn't want to let Newt go, she wanted to stay here even if she had to stand half the night, all the same, she could hardly imagine how she would sleep now and how many times she would wake up from nightmares.

Newt raised his surprised eyes at her and nodded, bringing them down again.

“Yes,” he confirmed a little timidly and gently stroked the knuckles on her palm with his thumb. “I'm afraid to wake up at night and wonder if I dreamed all this. I'm afraid I won't see you here in the morning.”

He stopped polishing her hand with his glance and looked up in time to see how her face softened into a gentle smile.

“Come with me,” she said quietly. “There'll be enough space for your folding bed in the bedroom.”


End file.
